Bristol Tennessee/Virginia Chamber of Commerce

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The Crooked Road

Discover an important page in America’s musical playbook on the Crooked Road, Virginia’s Heritage Music Trail. The 250-mile trail winds through the southwest Virginia countryside, and Bristol is one of the seven major music hubs along the way. The trail includes some of the most significant sites in the history of American country music.

Be sure not to miss the Carter Family Fold, a rustic music theater in Hiltons, Virginia, where live country and bluegrass music is heard every Saturday night. The theater seats nearly 1,000 and has a large dance floor for the many patrons who just have to start moving once the music begins to play. The Carter Family, consisting of A.P. Carter, his wife, Sara, and her cousin Maybelle, first recorded in Bristol during the famous Bristol Sessions in 1927 and went on from there to become the First Family of Country Music.

The Crooked Road also features the Ralph Stanley Museum in Clintwood, the Blue Ridge Music Center, the Floyd Country Store, home of the Friday Night Jamboree, and many other attractions.